I am always super excited to present my big main Halloween post each year! And this year, with my goolish Halloween recipe, I got to knock down two skeletons with one big candy (ha ha). This post combines both the October 2016 challenges for Food ‘n Flix and the Daring Kitchen. The movie for Food ‘n Flix was Beetlejuice. The Daring Kitchen challenge was a decorated swiss roll cake. Hence, my evil mind gave birth to the scary themed Beetlejuice Swiss Roll Cake! Do you dare to take a bite?

Beetlejuice the movie

Beetlejuice is a 1988 comedy fantasy film directed by the amazing Tim Burton. The plot in a nut shell: a deceased young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are stuck as ghosts their former home. The home is purchased by a modern and annoying couple and their teenage goth daughter (Winona Ryder). The ghosts desperately want to get rid of the new owners. They fail in doing so while befriending the daughter who can see the ghosts. The dead couple employ the obnoxious ghost named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) from the Netherworld to help them in their task. Not a good move, he does not work well with others. Will all the residents find a peaceful ground to live happily together and will they get rid of beetlejuice? Whatch the movie to find out.

If you have not seen this movie already you have been living under a rock. I saw it at the avant premier when I was 14. My BFF of the time had won tickets. It was downtown Montreal and it was the first time my parents let me go alone in the city. But I remember my dad picked us up by car after. By today’s standard the film is super kitch but super fun. There are no real horro moments but there are ‘OMG so gross’ moments. I think the most terrifying part of the movie was seeing the horror of the 80s fashion again. So happy I got to see this film again!

Decorated swiss roll cake technique

We were introduced to the Japanese decorated “kawaii” swiss roll cake technique, a popularized trend by the food blogger Junko. Kawaii is defined by the quality of cuteness in the context of Japanese culture. The decorated swill roll concept is based on the French pastry technique called joconde sponge. But the difference here is that one takes a small amount of sponge cake batter to pipe the decorative pattern, which ensures that the pattern and the cake are the same texture so that the cake rolls up with no problem.

The 6 egg sponge cake is very elastic and forgiving for the rolling. The simple syrup also helps by keeping the cake moist and pliable. Care must be taken to not overcook the cake at all or the cake may crack when you roll it. So better to undercook just a bit. My design is free-hand but if you plan on making a precise pattern, make a stencil for piping your pattern on. Keep in mind the image will be mirrored so if you are including writing make sure the words on the stencil are backwards.

UPDATE: whether with a decoration or plain, this has become my go to Swiss roll cake, it is so easy. I even used it to make my Boozy Peaches and Cream Trifle.

Sift the flour, the baking powder and salt in a small bowl, reserve. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs. With mixer on, slowly add the sugar a bit at a time, and beat for 1 more minute all together. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until well combined. Beat in the vanilla and water until incorporated.

If using a stencil, place it on the left side of the baking sheet. Place a piece of parchment paper cut to the size of a half baking sheet.

Separate batter amounts for your design. About 1/4 cup is good for small designs. Mix each amount of batter with gel food coloring to the desired color. In my case I made a batch of purple and a batch of black. I flavored my main batter with 2 teasppons of matcha powder and a few drops of green coloring.

TIPS: do any outlines first and fillings seconds. FREEZE between each color applications for 15 minutes to prevent your batters from bleeding together.

Once all your design is piped and frozen a bit, remove the stencil from under the parchment paper, then pour and gently spread your main batter evenly over the entire sheet pan.

Bake for about 8 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be very careful not to overbake.

Lay a second sheet of parchment paper on a large cutting board. Right away when the cake is out of the oven, invert the cake onto the piece of parchment paper and gently remove the top parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and turn the cake again over with the cutting board for help so that the decorations are facing the counter.

Roll the cake up with the side away from the decoration and leave to cool.

For the filling

Bring the cream to a boil or heat in the microwave. In a bowl, pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Set aside for 10 minutes, then stir until smooth and the chocolate is all melted. Cool the mixture in the fridge for a bit, then whisk with an electric mixer on medium until filling is light and fluffy.

For the syrup

In a small bowl, combine the caster sugar and boiling water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the liqueur if desired, or equal amount of water. When the cake is completely cool, unroll and brush the simple syrup over the inside of the cake with a pastry brush and let it soak in. Trim edges clean.

Spread the filling over the entire inside of the cake. Roll it up again and leave to set in the fridge for a few hours.

For the green spun sugar

Place a sheet of parchment paper on your counter and a rolling pin on top. Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a saucepan and brush down the sides with water to prevent crystal formations. Keep boiling until you reach 155 degrees C. Let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes.

Dip a fork in the sugar and flick it across the paper. If strings of sugar form you are at the right temperature. Work quickly to spin all the liquid. Gather up with your fingers into your desired shape and place on top of cake.

Notes

For the spun sugar: only prepare your sugar sculpture when close to serving as the humidty in the air will melt it down with time.

Did you make one of my recipes? I would love to see it. Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @cultureatz.

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54 Responses

December 1, 2016 Ketutar JensenReply THAT IS SO COOL!!! Wow!
Went all Jackson Pollock with "beetlejuice" and it looks amazing!
I love all the different colors on the splashes and the amazing use of contrast colors!
WOW!

November 4, 2016 shaheenReply Wow that is one awesome contribution to Food n Flix, love the spun sugar too, its something i tried once and failed it was quite thick - need to try again.

November 4, 2016 EvelyneReply Thank you so much Shaheen and I was to quick to flick (ha ha) my spun sugar, you really got to wait to the right temp. I did such a small batch so no waste if it did not work.

November 2, 2016 ElissaReply That looks awesome! I remember that movie! I love the fact that you've combined some genuine baking skill here with something totally unique and out there. It's amazing what food can do.

November 3, 2016 EvelyneReply I think food can be like an artist,s palette and the chef is limited to his/hers imagination. Thanks for your comment :-)

November 2, 2016 AmiraReply Me, me me I am one of those you mentioned who has been living under a rock :). Your posts are always so funny and inspiring Eve. This looks so good although we don't celebrate such things but this is good as I can bake this anytime of the year. BTW: I cannot fin the china tea link it gives me 404!!

November 2, 2016 EvelyneReply LOL well come out of that rock Amira! I am glad you laughed. Yes the cake is adaptable to any occasion. Yeah the tea post is now up today so you can check it out :-) I had hit publish but wanted to schedule...feeds still got notified even if I took it off the site.

October 29, 2016 Debra EliotseatsReply I think this looks BOO-tiful (and delicious)! This could easily be adaptable to many holidays depending on the color scheme. I love your color choices for this Beetlejuice post!

October 29, 2016 KorenaReply Wow, Evelyne, this is fantastic! I love that you were able to combine the two challenges - your Swiss roll turned out perfectly and is also perfectly Beetlejuicy! The spun sugar is a great touch. Nice work!

October 29, 2016 EvelyneReply Thank you Korena for the challenge, the creative (beetle)juices flowed lol. Like I said the joconde challenge was such a fail I never thought I could do this type of thing right, so big thanks!

October 28, 2016 Deb in HawaiiReply I love it! Your cake is so creative--the colorful syrup design and that spun sugar are just perfect. Definitely a ghoulish Beetlejuice feel to it for sure! ;-) Thanks for joining in this month!

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